Washing machine packing system

ABSTRACT

There is described a system including a pair of resilient bracing members which are inserted in overlying crossed relationship in the access opening of a clothes washing machine to resiliently interlock the agitator and the tub to the machine housing.

United States Patent [191 Elwell 1 Oct. 14, 1975 41' WASHING MACHINE PACKING SYSTEM [75] Inventor: Maurice W. Elwell, Hawthorne,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: lden Manufacturing Co., Inc., River Forest, 111.

22] Filed: Apr. 15, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 460,817

[52] US. Cl. 206/320; 206/523; 206/814 [51] Int. Cl. B65D 81/06; B65D 85/00 [58] Field of Search 206/320, 523, 521;

229/14 C, 6 R, 28 R; 248/46; 217/31 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,725,291 Moore 206/521 1,792,968 2/1931 Danforth 248/46 2,330,346 9/1943 Elliott i 229/6 R 2,680,501 6/1954 Cunningham.... 229/28 R 2,868,428 l/1959 Bergstrom 229/14 C 3,184,048 5/1965 Bjerum 206/320 3,565,243 2/l 97l Freeman... 206/523 3,620,365 1 171971 Elwell 206/320 3,809,232 5/1974 Kennington 206/320 Primary Examiner-William T. Dixson, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or F irmEdmond T. Patnaude [57] ABSTRACT There is described a system including a pair of resilient bracing members which are inserted in overlying crossed relationship in the access opening of a clothes washing machine to resiliently interlock the agitator and the tub tothe machine housing.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 FIG. 2

WASHING MACHINE PACKING SYSTEM The present invention relates in general to a method and means for bracing the agitator and tub to the hous-' ing of a clothes washingmachine to-prevent relative movement therebetween during shipment, and it relates more particularly. to a new and improved bracing member for packing clothes washing machines for shipment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In my prior us. Pat. No. 3,620,365'jthere is shown and described a packing brace assembly which has for the past several years been extensively used in the moving industry. The packing device disclosed in that patent employs at least three but generally four bracing members interconnected by a resilient cord. The system of the present invention is similar in operation to the aforesaid device but is less costly to manufacture in that the flexible cord and associated assembly time are obviated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the preferred embodiment of the present invention consists of a pair of identical bracing members formed of a somewhat resilient material such as plastic foam and so shaped as to be insertible in mutually crossed. overlying relationship into the access opening of a clothes washing machine to interlock the agitator and tub to the housing of the machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, a clothes washing machine includes a housing 12 having an access opening 14 defined by a rim 15 in the top wall of the housing. The opening 14 is adapted to be closed by a cover 16 hingedly attached to the housing adjacent to the access opening. Movably mounted within the housing 12 is a wash tub l8, and an agitator 20 is mounted within the tub in such a manner as to be movable relative to the tub and to the housing. Unless the tub and agitator are prevented from moving relative to the housing and to one another, damage to the machine 10 is likely to occur during shipment.

In order to interlock the agitator, the tub and the housing to prevent relative movement therebetween during shipment, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a plurality of bracing members 22 formed of a resilient material such as plastic foam and insertible in crossed overlying relationship in the access opening 14 to brace both the agitator and tub 18 to the housing 12.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the bracing members 22 have end walls 24 and 26 provided near the top with respective notches 28 and30 defining longitudinally extending ledges 32 and 34 at the top. The thickness of the bracing members 22 is less than the diameter of the upperend portion of the normal agitator and is thus about 2% inches in a preferred embodiment of the invention. Similarly, the bracing members may have a length of about 16 inches to fit most machines. A generally rectangular recess in eachbracing member is defined by parallel side walls 36 and 38 spaced apart by a'distance slightly greater than the thickness of the bracing member itselfiThe'width of the recess is,'therefore, about 2% inches in a preferred embodiment. A pair of notches 40 and 42 are provided in the walls 36 and 38 adjacent the top wall 44 of the recess for the reasons jexp'lained hereinafter. From inspection of FIGS. 2 and 3 it will be seen that the recess wall 44 is spaced from the top of the bracing member by a distance substantially equal to the height dimension of the ledges 32 and 34.

OPERATION When a clothes washing machine is to be conditioned for shipment, the cover 16 is opened and one of the bracing members 22 is inserted into the access opening to place the central recess over the top of the agitator 20 with the recess wall 44 abutting the top of the agitator as shown in FIG. 3. The ends of the bracing member are then pressed down such that the end wall portions 24 and 26 located below the notches move under the housing rim 15 to press against the inner wall of the tub 18. The body portions of the bracing member located between the recess walls 36 and 38 and the end walls 24 and 26 are thus compressed between the diametrically disposed portions of the tub l8 and agitator 20. The rim 15 extends into the notches 28 and 30 whose walls are slightly compressed and press against the rim 15 to prevent movement of the bracing member relative to the housing. Since the ledges 32 and 34 overlie the top of the housing, further downward movement of the bracing member into the machine is prevented.

A second bracing member 22 is then placed in crosswise relationship over the first bracing member with the central recess thereof overlying both the first bracing member and the agitator whereby the two bracing members are mutually perpendicular. The ends of the second bracing member are then pressed down until the ledges 32 and 34 thereof rest on the top surface of the housing with the rim l5 locked in place in the notches 28 and 30 thereof.

The notches 40 and 42 serve two purposes. One, they provide sufficient flexibility so that the bracing member can be bowed during assembly to the machine without tearing the bracing member or overly compressing it beyond its elastic limit. Two, the added flexibility at the central portion of the bracing member permits the upper bracing member to be bowed over the underlying portion of the lower bracing member to insure a tight compression fit between the recess walls 36 and 38 thereof and the agitator 20.

The system of the present invention has the advantage to the manufacturer that both bracing members are identical and no pre-assembly thereof is required. For the user, an advantage is that damage to one of the bracing members does not prevent reuse of the other.

While the present invention has been described in connection with a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that those skilled in the art may make many changes and modifications without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all such changes and modifications fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a washing machine which includes a housing with an access opening over which a cover is removably disposed, a tub located within said housing and an agitator disposed at substantially the center of said tub, the combination comprising first and second resilient bracing members each having a downwardly opening recess,

said members being disposed in said access opening in'mutually cross-wise relationship with the ends of said members abutting opposite portions of said tub and also abutting said housing at opposite sides of said access opening,

the sides of said recesses respectively abutting the sides of said agitator, and

the central portions of said members being in mutually abutting horizontal relationship with the lower member resting on the top of said agitator and the central portion of the upper member resting on the central portion of said lower member and bulging upwardly above the end portions of said members,

whereby when said cover is in the closed position it compresses said central portions of said brace members against the top of said agitator.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the walls at the upper ends of said recesses are notched.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the outer ends of each said bracing members have a ledge resting on the top portion of said housing surrounding said access opening.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the outer ends of each of said bracing members are provided with notches below said ledges.

5. Aparatus according to claim 4 wherein the walls at the upper ends of said recess are provided with notches.

6. Appartus according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of said bracing members is no greater than the uppermost diameter of said agitator.

7. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said bracing members are identical. 

1. In a washing machine which includes a housing with an access opening over which a cover is removably disposed, a tub located within said housing and an agitator disposed at substantially the center of said tub, the combination comprising first and second resiLient bracing members each having a downwardly opening recess, said members being disposed in said access opening in mutually cross-wise relationship with the ends of said members abutting opposite portions of said tub and also abutting said housing at opposite sides of said access opening, the sides of said recesses respectively abutting the sides of said agitator, and the central portions of said members being in mutually abutting horizontal relationship with the lower member resting on the top of said agitator and the central portion of the upper member resting on the central portion of said lower member and bulging upwardly above the end portions of said members, whereby when said cover is in the closed position it compresses said central portions of said brace members against the top of said agitator.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the walls at the upper ends of said recesses are notched.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the outer ends of each said bracing members have a ledge resting on the top portion of said housing surrounding said access opening.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the outer ends of each of said bracing members are provided with notches below said ledges.
 5. Aparatus according to claim 4 wherein the walls at the upper ends of said recess are provided with notches.
 6. Appartus according to claim 1 wherein the thickness of said bracing members is no greater than the uppermost diameter of said agitator.
 7. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said bracing members are identical. 